Trip 4 - A long trip

This trip is probably going to be the longest yet. I left on January 5th for Germany, and won't return home until January 30th. Some things are worth stretching a bit for, I guess. Since this trip is so long, it should allow me to meet some personal dates. More on this as they develop.

This time, I chose to take a different route to Germany, and use Gold status on American Airlines. I took Iberia Airlines from Chicago to Madrid, Spain, for the overwater leg of the trip. As luck would have it, Iberia chose to upgrade me to Business class. Ah, yes. Sitting in row 2 in my lounger (the seat fully reclines) watching movies and trying to sleep. Sounds luxurious, but the "bed" was not comfortable, so I didn't sleep. Well, at least they had lots of movies. The food and wine were OK too.

Maneuvering through Madrid was kind of difficult. Twice I had to stop and ask where to go (you know how much I hate that!). From the nice new terminal, I had to take a train to another terminal, then leave the terminal and get on a bus to the next terminal. I was getting a bit worried when the bus went out of the airport, and I could not see any terminal at all. It finally ended up at an older terminal, where the Lufthansa flights were located.

I also took this opportunity to leave my carry on bag at security. I was sitting there calmly eating lunch (breakfast?) when I realized I didn't have everything. So I backtracked to security, and they let me have the bag (after several questions).

Once I got to Germany, I spent over 6 hours in the Frankfort airport. Taking the less expensive route sure does take a long time. I took this opportunity to leave the security zone to go shopping. I had realized in the St. Louis airport that I had not packed my belts. (I seem kind of scattered on this trip, huh?) So - I shopped in St. Louis, and didn't find one I liked for a price I liked. Then I shopped in Frankfort and bought one. Going back through security, I made sure that I had my carry on.

I finally arrived in Leipzig after 11 pm. Tired - and work the next day...